In His Eulogy Of Lewis, Obama Calls Americans To Action

Barack Obama gave a powerful eulogy at the funeral of John Lewis. If you did not see it, I urge you to do so, or read the transcript. You can access it in The New York Times.

Obama gave a moving tribute to the heroism of Rep. John Lewis -- a heroism he exhibited throughout his life.

But Obama went further. He called on Congress and the American citizens to take action -- not only to honor Lewis, but to save the democracy that is now in danger.

Here is just the part of the speech where he calls for action:

Bull Connor may be gone. But today we witness with our own eyes police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans. George Wallace may be gone. But we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators. We may no longer have to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar in order to cast a ballot. But even as we sit here, there are those in power are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting — by closing polling locations, and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws, and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the Postal Service in the run-up to an election that is going to be dependent on mailed-in ballots so people don’t get sick. . . .

Like John, we have got to keep getting into that good trouble. He knew that nonviolent protest is patriotic; a way to raise public awareness, put a spotlight on injustice, and make the powers that be uncomfortable.

Like John, we don’t have to choose between protest and politics, it is not an either-or situation, it is a both-and situation. We have to engage in protests where that is effective but we also have to translate our passion and our causes into laws and institutional practices. . . .

Like John, we have got to fight even harder for the most powerful tool we have, which is the right to vote. . . .

You want to honor John? Let’s honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for. And by the way, naming it the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, that is a fine tribute. But John wouldn’t want us to stop there, trying to get back to where we already were. Once we pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, we should keep marching to make it even better.

By making sure every American is automatically registered to vote, including former inmates who’ve earned their second chance.

By adding polling places, and expanding early voting, and making Election Day a national holiday, so if you are someone who is working in a factory, or you are a single mom who has got to go to her job and doesn’t get time off, you can still cast your ballot.

By guaranteeing that every American citizen has equal representation in our government, including the American citizens who live in Washington, D.C. and in Puerto Rico. They are Americans.

By ending some of the partisan gerrymandering — so that all voters have the power to choose their politicians, not the other way around.

And if all this takes eliminating the filibuster — another Jim Crow relic — in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that’s what we should do.

And yet, even if we do all this — even if every bogus voter suppression law was struck off the books today — we have got to be honest with ourselves that too many of us choose not to exercise the franchise; that too many of our citizens believe their vote won’t make a difference, or they buy into the cynicism that, by the way, is the central strategy of voter suppression, to make you discouraged, to stop believing in your own power.

So we are also going to have to remember what John said: “If you don’t do everything you can to change things, then they will remain the same. You only pass this way once. You have to give it all you have.” As long as young people are protesting in the streets, hoping real change takes hold, I’m hopeful but we cannot casually abandon them at the ballot box. Not when few elections have been as urgent, on so many levels, as this one. We cannot treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy.

Like John, we have to give it all we have.

The Final Message To America From John Lewis

Shortly before his death, John Lewis (American hero and Civil Rights icon) wrote this essay. It was his final words to the people of the country he loved. The New York Times printed it on the day of his funeral, as he had requested. It should be read by every American. I post it below for those of you who may not have access to The New York Times.

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

Message Of Reason And Hope From Rep. John Lewis

While Donald Trump does his best to incite the violence of right-wingers, using the protests of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, other government leaders offer a message of reason and hope.

Here is what Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) had to say:

 "Sixty-five years have passed, and I still remember the face of young Emmett Till.  It was 1955.  I was 15 years old — just a year older than him.  What happened that summer in Money, Mississippi, and the months that followed — the recanted accusation, the sham trial, the dreaded verdict — shocked the country to its core.  And it helped spur a series of non-violent events by everyday people who demanded better from our country.  

“Despite real progress, I can't help but think of young Emmett today as I watch video after video after video of unarmed Black Americans being killed, and falsely accused.  My heart breaks for these men and women, their families, and the country that let them down — again.  My fellow Americans, this is a special moment in our history.  Just as people of all faiths and no faiths, and all backgrounds, creeds, and colors banded together decades ago to fight for equality and justice in a peaceful, orderly, non-violent fashion, we must do so again.

“To the rioters here in Atlanta and across the country:  I see you, and I hear you.  I know your pain, your rage, your sense of despair and hopelessness.  Justice has, indeed, been denied for far too long.  Rioting, looting, and burning is not the way.  Organize.  Demonstrate.  Sit-in.  Stand-up.  Vote.  Be constructive, not destructive.  History has proven time and again that non-violent, peaceful protest is the way to achieve the justice and equality that we all deserve. 

“Our work won't be easy — nothing worth having ever is — but I strongly believe, as Dr. King once said, that while the arc of the moral universe is long, it bends toward justice.”

This American Hero Now Has A New Foe To Defeat

Rep. John Lewis (Democrat - Georgia) is a warrior -- and a true American hero. He has spent his life fighting for equality, justice, and freedom.

Now he has a new foe to fight -- pancreatic cancer. His office announced on Sunday that Lewis (often called the "conscience of the House") was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the pancreas at his last medical check-up.

I hope he's able to defeat this new enemy. This country could use a few more years of the passion and morality of this great man.

Here's what Rep. Lewis had to say about the new battle he's facing:

"I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now."

This month in a routine medical visit, and subsequent tests, doctors discovered Stage IV pancreatic cancer. This diagnosis has been reconfirmed.

While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance.

So I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. We still have many bridges to cross.

To my constituents: being your representative in Congress is the honor of a lifetime. I will return to Washington in coming days to continue our work and begin my treatment plan, which will occur over the next several weeks. I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon.

Please keep me in your prayers as I begin this journey."

House Passes Condemnation Of Trump's Racist Remarks

Here is the powerful speech by Rep. John Lewis in favor of the House Resolution:

“I rise with a sense of righteous indignation to support this resolution.”

“I know racism when I see it. I know racism when I feel it. And at the highest level of government, there’s no room for racism.”

“It sows the seeds of violence and destroys the hopes and dreams of people.”

“The world is watching. They are shocked and dismayed because it seems we have lost our way as a nation, as a proud and great people.” 

“Some of us have been victims of the stain, the pain, and hurt of racism. In the 1950’s and during 1960’s, segregationists told us to go back when we protested for our rights. They told ministers, priests, rabbis, and nuns to go back. They told the innocent little children seeking just an equal education, to go back.”

“As a nation and as a people we need to go forward and not backward. With this vote, we stand with our sisters, three were born in America and one came here looking for a better life. With this vote, we meet our moral obligation to condemn hate, racism, and bigotry in every form.”

"Thank you for the time. Do what is right, what is fair, and what is just."

And here is the Resolution passed by the House of Representatives:

RESOLUTION

Condemning President Trump’s racist comments directed at Members of Congress.
Whereas the Founders conceived America as a haven of ref- uge for people fleeing from religious and political persecution, and Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison all emphasized that the Nation gained as it attracted new people in search of freedom and liveli- hood for their families;

Whereas the Declaration of Independence defined America as a covenant based on equality, the unalienable Rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and government by the consent of the people;

Whereas Benjamin Franklin said at the Constitutional con- vention, ‘‘When foreigners after looking about for some other Country in which they can obtain more happiness, give a preference to ours, it is a proof of attachment which ought to excite our confidence and affection’’;

Whereas President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ‘‘Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists’’;
Whereas immigration of people from all over the Earth has defined every stage of American history and propelled our social, economic, political, scientific, cultural, artistic and technological progress as a people, and all Americans, ex- cept for the descendants of Native people and enslaved African-Americans, are immigrants or descendants of im- migrants;

Whereas the commitment to immigration and asylum has been not a partisan cause but a powerful national value that has infused the work of many Presidents;

Whereas American patriotism is defined not by race or eth- nicity but by devotion to the Constitutional ideals of equality, liberty, inclusion, and democracy and by service to our communities and struggle for the common good;

Whereas President John F. Kennedy, whose family came to the United States from Ireland, stated in his 1958 book ‘‘A Nation of Immigrants’’ that ‘‘The contribution of im- migrants can be seen in every aspect of our national life. We see it in religion, in politics, in business, in the arts, in education, even in athletics and entertainment. There is no part of our nation that has not been touched by our immigrant background. Everywhere immigrants have en- riched and strengthened the fabric of American life.’’;

Whereas President Ronald Reagan in his last speech as President conveyed ‘‘An observation about a country which I love’’;

Whereas as President Reagan observed, the torch of Lady Liberty symbolizes our freedom and represents our herit- age, the compact with our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors, and it is the Statue of Liberty and its val- ues that give us our great and special place in the world;

Whereas other countries may seek to compete with us, but in one vital area, as ‘‘a beacon of freedom and opportunity that draws the people of the world, no country on Earth comes close’’;

Whereas it is the great life force of ‘‘each generation of new Americans that guarantees that America’s triumph shall continue unsurpassed’’ through the 21st century and be- yond and is part of the ‘‘magical, intoxicating power of America’’;

Whereas this is ‘‘one of the most important sources of Amer- ica’s greatness: we lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people -- our strength -- from every country and every corner of the world, and by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation’’;

Whereas ‘‘thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge’’, always leading the world to the next fron- tier;

Whereas this openness is vital to our future as a Nation, and ‘‘if we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leader- ship in the world would soon be lost’’; and

Whereas President Donald Trump’s racist comments have le- gitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color: Now, therefore, be it

1. 1  Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
   
   
2. 2  (1) believes that immigrants and their descend-
   
   
3. 3  ants have made America stronger, and that those
   
   
4. 4  who take the oath of citizenship are every bit as
   
   
5. 5  American as those whose families have lived in the
   
   
6. 6  United States for many generations;
   
   
7. 7  (2) is committed to keeping America open to
   
   
8. 8  those lawfully seeking refuge and asylum from vio-
   
   
9. 9  lence and oppression, and those who are willing to
   
   
10. 10  work hard to live the American Dream, no matter
    
    
11. 11  their race, ethnicity, faith, or country of origin; and
    
    
12. 12  (3) strongly condemns President Donald
    
    
13. 13  Trump’s racist comments that have legitimized and
    
    
14. 14  increased fear and hatred of new Americans and
    
    
15. 15  people of color by saying that our fellow Americans
    
    
16. 16  who are immigrants, and those who may look to the
    
    
17. 17  President like immigrants, should ‘‘go back’’ to
    
    
18. 18  other countries, by referring to immigrants and asy-
    
    
19. 19  lum seekers as ‘‘invaders,’’ and by saying that Mem-
    
    
20. 20  bers of Congress who are immigrants (or those of
    
    
21. 21  our colleagues who are wrongly assumed to be immi-
    
    
22. 22  grants) do not belong in Congress or in the United
    
    
23. 23  States of America.

No! Bernie Was Not At Selma March Led By Dr. King

The other day, as the Black Congressional Caucus threw its support to Hillary Clinton, a reporter tried to deflate that announcement by asking about Bernie Sanders' connection with the Civil Rights movement. Bernie spent about three years demonstrating for civil rights with CORE and SNCC in Chicago, and attended the March on Washington -- and is to be commended for that. But when Rep. John Lewis, who spent many years in the movement and suffered beatings and jail, answered the question by saying he had not met Sanders back then, some Bernie supporters got all bent out of shape.

Twitter blew up with Sanders' supporters saying nasty (and many racist) things about Rep. Lewis. I was shocked. Lewis is a true hero, and those "progressives" who attacked him should be ashamed of themselves.

Now, some have gone further. The picture above shows the Selma March in 1965, and it is being floated around the internet to supposedly shame Rep. Lewis. Lewis was at the march, and some Bernie supporters are claiming that the person in the red circle is Bernie Sanders -- so Lewis had to have been lying (according to them). The second photo compares the person at the march (left) to a picture of the young Sanders (right).

They are NOT they same person. Bernie has never claimed to be at that march in Selma (and I'm sure it would be on his resume if he had been there). Also, Mother Jones (a very progressive magazine) looked into Bernie's civil rights actions -- and they say those actions stopped in 1963 (two years before the Selma March).

Here is what Snopes.com said about the picture:

Some have pegged the identity of the face circled above as likely being that of Paul Reese, who looked somewhat like a young Bernie Sanders, participated in civil rights events of the time, and was present at the march. . .

In short:

• There's no evidence Bernie Sanders took part in the 1965 march pictured above, other than a photograph showing a face in the crowd that bears some resemblance to him. No one verifiably present at that march has recounted seeing Sanders there, no contemporaneous accounts of the march mentioned his name, and the face circled in the above photograph wasn't associated with Sanders' name until some 50 years after the fact.
• Sanders' active involve with the Civil Rights Movement had ended a few years prior to that 1965 march, and there's no record of his having been in Alabama around that time.
• Even Sanders himself hasn't claimed he took part in the march.

Bernie has a fine civil rights record. And his supporters don't need to resort to lies to make it seem better, or to attack a hero for supporting Clinton. Doing so just hurts their own cause and makes them look silly.

Superdelegates Breaking For Obama

It's starting to look like the beginning of the end for Clinton's candidacy. She needs to win Texas and Ohio big to remain viable, but the latest polls show she will probably lose in Texas. Ohio still looks like it could be a win for Clinton, but it will be much closer and she won't get the big win that she needs.

That would be bad enough, but now the superdelegates are starting to declare their support of Obama. In the last couple of weeks, around two dozen superdelegates have thrown their support to Obama.

Some of them have even switched their support from Clinton to Obama -- like revered civil rights leader and Congressman from Georgia, John Lewis (pictured above). Early in the campaign, Lewis had said he was supporting Clinton, but yesterday he changed that. He is now on the Obama team.

Another Clinton supporter to defect to Obama is Texas' own longtime state legislator, Senfronia Thompson. Rep. Thompson is well-respected by her peers and her constituents. If the Democrats were to seize control of the Texas House in the next election, she would be the odds-on favorite to win the Speaker position.

These are important defections from the Clinton campaign. I'm starting to have serious doubts that she will make it to the Pennsylvania primary.